Craig, you tend to have a decent take on things and share some interesting thoughts. This really wasn`t one of them. What a strange sentiment from the lips (or rather "quill") of a philosopher. Aren`t philosophers supposed to uphold ethics rather than mocking them? Sorry, I know it`s off topic....

Your site is solid design, navigation and content. Would I design it like that? Maybe not...

There are plenty of sites out there made specifically to "sell" a book or something saying this is the best thing since daylight and how this book changed my life.... and those sites aren`t knock-out designs. They are made to get the targeted keywords indexed to drive traffic to the site.

Yes, a liquid site or just wider (800 - to 1000px) would be good. I`m not "keen" on the text colors (green and orange) but they do stand out.

Your original post - was about the eBook:Will this ebook really sell? There is a lot of "free" information (and advice) on the web about making websites and what works or doesn`t work. For me to purchase a book or an eBook... I`d need to see there is something in it I need and can not get anywhere else (within the time frame I need it).

I believe this thread has evolved to include a discussion of Danae`s website eventhough that was not in the original post.

You have described (I presume) how you expect the subject of "effective websites" would be presented on a webpage. Certainly a logical approach and presentation.

I would argue that Danae`s page is effective as is because it engages the viewer by using a question: "Would you like your website to do more for your company?" The question is prominently presented and essentially a version of the questions you`d like to see.

I`m suggesting a site does not have to "tell a story" to be effective. It must engage to viewer - connect with that viewer`s wants or desires...with what that viewer is seeking and provide a solution (call to action).

Danae`s technique of asking a question is a common and effective advertizing technique. "Telling a story" is another. She also employs another effective technique for drawing people in - FREE stuff. Free stuff can also create repeat visitors if the free stuff content is changed periodically.

Perhaps the one improvement would be to add a more overt "call to action" higher up on the web page in response to the question similar to your suggested "Let us examine your site and tell you if it`s effective." Something like - "Click here to make your site more effective."

I think you are missing the point here... you are selling to the novices in business. The people that are giving you the most input here would never need your site. They have been in business longer than we newbies.

I am a newbie and I look for a bit of "Dick and Jane". I look for most bang for meager bucks. I don`t know all of the things that are being recommended as lacking because "I don`t know!!" I like the chatty, she`s learning while I`m learning and I am going to get a bargain because of that.

Yep, I know that I will end up paying more in the long run, but right now I want to have a partner in learning.

---"If you`ve got a frog to swallow, don`t look at it too long. And if you`ve got more than one to swallow, swallow the biggest one first"--Danny Cox

Lets start off by saying that if you market it right then someone will buy your book.

I
can go to Amazon and type in Website and get dozens of pages filled
with books. Many of them covering the same topics you have. Some are
backed by large publishers, some from industry experts, etc...

Now
for some soul searching. Can you search Amazon and find a book that
covers most of your topics that is written better than what you would
do? If you can, why would someone pick your book over one of those?

The most important part is why you are doing this. Are you wanting to get published, just make money, or have your own book?

Just keep in mind that when you search Amazon or any other site that has a vast number of books you will most likely be in the section with other web related books. Many of these books may only have one chapter of what you have and other may contain 75% of the same data. If you believe that nobody else has written about it and you have a good way to promote the book then I say write it.

On the inverse, if you don`t care about Amazon and just want it to be a web based PDF book then you have another problem. How are people going to find you in the enormous sea of online website self help books.